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*No contact information - Poppy prefers to stay
anonymous
SENSUOUS SADIE: When were you first aware of having a higher power in
your life?
POPPY: "As a very young child I was aware, as are all children, of
the numinous nature of all life. Ideas about God are taught, and may or
may not harmonize with that original, natural feeling of imminent
divinity. The evolving religious or spiritual personality must learn to
embark on a dialogue between social, historical, consensual
god-languages and that original feeling. I can't summarize my own
version of that dialogue in a brief statement, but suffice it to see it
has been long, arduous at times, breathtaking and heartbreaking and
others, and always, magical. I am still learning, through all this, to
find the exquisitely human balance point of empowerment and
actualization on the one hand, and surrender on the other."
Sadie: Was this related to or independent from your religious
upbringing (or lack of it)? In what ways?
Poppy: "Yes? No? Maybe? There is both a pre-eminent sense in my
life of the breath of nature as trumping all doctrine and all law, and
at the same time a poignant and heartfelt love of my Jewishness. Judaism
offers an exquisite richness of images in which the idea of dialogue
with God can occur -- including recovered images of the divine Feminine
in images such as Matronit (the wife of God), Shekhina (the in-dwelling
Presence who will re-unite with God in the messianic age), and the
Sabbath Bride or Queen."
Sadie: When did you first start exploring the connection between BDSM
& spirituality? Was there a particular experience or moment that set
you on this path?
Poppy: "My only interest in BDSM was in its spiritual aspect, which
includes the reclamation of sexual pleasure as a form of prayer."
Sadie: How would you describe the spiritual/BDSM space that you go
into?
Poppy: "For me, it is not a static 'thing' or 'space' but rather
the experience, with each encounter, of opening new spaces, energies, or
ways of being. If I am not learning and growing, I am not
interested."
Sadie: What spiritual or BDSM practices help take you there? For
example: yoga, meditation, Kundalini, Tantra etc.
Poppy: "The usual post-modern pot pouri -- done some yoga, some tai
chi, some hypnosis... yadda yadda yadda."
Sadie: What practical things would you suggest for someone who wants
to explore the BDSM/spirituality connection? For example some people use
ritual or pain as a "door of perception."
Poppy: "I wouldn't dream of making blanket statements about how
another person should pursue their path. No two people are needing or
desiring the same openings."
Sadie: How have these experiences affected your life?
Poppy: "They ARE my life."
Sadie: How has your spiritual practice informed your BDSM practice?
And vice versa?
Poppy: "It's not a dichotomy."
Sadie: How do you identify partners who have a similar orientation?
Poppy: "Their eyes don't glaze too badly when I start talking this
way? *grin*"
Sadie: Do you also consider your writing to be a spiritual
expression?
Poppy: "Yes, always. It's been that way my whole life."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sensuous
Sadie is the author of It's Not
About the Whip: Love, Sex, and Spirituality in the BDSM Scene (http://www.trafford.com/robots/03-0551.html).
She is the founder and leader (1999 - 2001) of
Rose
&
Thorn
,
Vermont
's first BDSM group.
Comments, compliments and complaints, as well as requests for reprinting
can be addressed to her at SensuousSadie@aol.com
or visit her website at www.sensuoussadie.com. Sadie believes the universe is abundant, and that sharing information
freely is part of this abundance, so she allows reprints of her writing
in most venues.
Copyright
2003 Sadie Sez Publications
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